The 'Third Life'

I am sure you heard of 'second life' ( a friend told me recently that real estate in this world too crashed due to global recession !!!)

Increasingly I am finding people in a 'third life' . I also see people falling between the first,second and third lives.

Let me explain.

what I call the third life is the one we live on the mobile network (the second life is on the web). The blackberry,mobile web,audio conferences, calls around world time zones,mobile office,mobile twitter make this third life taking 40 -50% of your first life.

How do you co-live in this third life, in which you only hear or read others but almost NEVER see them! This third life happens alongside the first or even second making your responses even more tricky!

I also see people stuck in the first life, without even realising that the world has moved on to second and third. They are uncomfortable if they don't see themselves in a physical office or in a physical home with others.

I see others seeing this as an opportunity to live two or three lives in one lifetime !
Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile

The Most 'Powerful' word in English

Before I give you the word, here's what this word can do for you.

1.Cut through 'Bull'

2.can help you really think 'out of the box'.

3.Assess people better

Use this word thrice in succession and its power multiplies. The word is lot more relevant in today's world in which yesterday's wizards are found to be today's scamsters.

The more you use it,the better placed you are.

The word is WHY.

Let me know what difference this word makes for you.

Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile

Marketing in a recessionary downturn

Let me wish you a 'peaceful' 2009!


Here are some thoughts that might help you market during recession.

1.Relationships: Nothing is more important during this period. If you know the right people and they value your relationship, they can guide you to where the spend is and help focus your marketing efforts. Here's the dampener: You cannot think of CREATING relationships ONLY when you need them most! I hope you have been nurturing those ,even before recession!

2.Segmenting: No recession effects the entire economy the same way. Have you looked at segments which are unaffected/growing during these times? Who is likely to grow most during these times? Which markets/geographies/verticals/categories?

3. Fundamentals:  Now more than ever, you need to focus on your business fundamentals/basics. If there are issues with those, recession is not the factor hampering your growth. While the world gets carried away by CNBC, make your basics stronger so you become the preferred choice.

4.Account Based Marketing: Have you exploited all that you can , within your existing relationships? Have you up sold/cross sold? Can you make new offerings to help them achieve during these tough times?

These are times that separate men/women from boys/girls. All the best and have a great 2009!

The 'unasked' questions

when we communicate with clients,we seem to be quite prepared,ready and good at answering all the questions posed by the client.

Are we missing on questions 'not' asked by the clients,but still bothering them?

Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile

Deal Breakers - "CORE"

Ask any sales person why an order is lost , chances are (s)he would say 'Price'!

Do we always lose orders because, we didnt lower the price ?

I would like to list the 'Deal Breakers' as 'CORE':

C - Competition: What was competition doing while you were pursuing the opportunity? How clued in are you on what they are offering/how/to whom? Have you considered these in your offering?

O - Objections: These are issues customer has 'expressed' to you , on your offering. Have you addressed each of those objections with a clear validation?

R- Risks : These are issues customer 'percieves' in working with you/your offering, but (mostly) will not 'express' it? e.g. Does customer doubt your solvency? Does customer feel you are a 'Fly-by-night' operator? Have you sensed and addressed these risks to the customer?

E-Empathy:  How much of your solution is customised based on customer's 'specific' situation? How much of customer research have you done and built that into your solution? Have you addressed the question - "It might have worked elsewhere, but wont work HERE!!!"


Look at your price , AFTER you have addressed all the above 'CORE' Deal Breakers!

Thinking beyond 'Problem Solving'

Traditional marketing text books talk about FAB ( Feature-Attribute-Benefits). This applies to products very well. But as significant pies of the economy today are from services, FAB applied to services could be 'Problem-Solution'.

Identify a/many customer problems and make your offering to be a solution. Simple, isn't it?

In the increasingly competitive world of services marketing, this is no longer sufficient.

When someone has a chest pain ( problem) and consults ( service) a doctor, the doctor not only gives medication ( solution) but also advises on precautions ( prevention). He/She also follows it through on implementation of these precautions and suggests improvements in life style etc ( continuous improvement).

Extrapolating this to services business, it is not enough to solve a problem for the client. To retain the client, one needs to help client prevent it, help client make continuous improvements not just around the problem but on other areas as well so that different problems do not arise in future. And that certainly builds a stronger, longer term relationship.

'Express' Elevator Pitch

Micro blogging,popularised by twitter limits your communication to 140 characters.

Content acesss on mobile phone has limited screen space.

Google Ads have tight character limits.

Information overload from smart phones,web,email and TV limit our ability to retain information.

Can you communicate your business value proposition in less than 140 characters?

welcome to the world of 'Express Elevator pitch'!

Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile